Big oil companies make ‘green’ moves

Some of the world’s biggest oil companies, including ExxonMobil (which manufactures Mobil Gargoyle Arctic 300), Shell, Statoil and Total have announced a number of ‘green’ investments in technologies, including electric battery storage systems, wind farms and carbon capture storage.

These measures come just after the biggest crude oil exporter in the world, Saudi Arabia, revealed that it intends to sell off some of its national oil company in order to diversify its economy and move away from overreliance on petroleum.

The moves also come just ahead of general meetings for both Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, where shareholders are expected to demand that these companies should do more to take on climate change.

It is thought that the investment in green technologies will not only be of benefit to the environment, but that the big oil companies who invest in them will also see good returns for their efforts, which is why they have put so much money into more environmentally friendly technologies.

For example, French oil company Total recently announced that it plans to spend €1billion (£770m) on the purchase of 100-year-old battery manufacturing firm Saftin in order to complement its current portfolio with electricity storage solutions. Chairman and Chief Exec Patrick Pouyanne believes this is a ‘chief component of the future of growth and renewable energy.’

Another big company, Shell, also seems to be looking towards greener energy, as it has recently set up a new division for low-carb technologies, known as New Energies, and it is likely this trend will continue as the years go by.